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MWC technically starts today, but that didn't stop some of the industry's biggest players from trying to get a head start on the fun on Sunday. Besides the big launches, there were a couple of pre-show events for those offbeat things that didn't need an auditorium to themselves. This means the preceding Sunday is actually one of the busiest days for big announcements. Here's the pick of the bunch this year, just head to the gallery below.

Did you sleep in on Sunday, only to realize that you'd missed Samsung's big Galaxy Unpacked event? Relax -- you can still watch the show as if it were fresh. As is its custom, the Korean tech giant has helpfully posted both a replay of the full event and a quick recap. The focus of the presentation is no longer all that surprising (spoiler: It was about the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge), but it's worth checking out if you want to see Samsung explore every nook and cranny of its latest smartphones.

It's the day many, many virtual reality developers have been waiting for: Finally, a way to sell VR games to people with VR headsets. Namely, Oculus and Samsung's collaboration on the Gear VR headset is bearing digital fruit in the form of a digital store. In short: You can finally buy and sell games on Samsung's VR headset. That's a bigger deal than it sounds, as Gear VR's store has been riddled with little more than tech and game demos since its launch late last year. We've been anxious for deeper experiences, and many developers have been withholding those experiences for a time when they could actually make money on their work. Let the floodgates open!

Those rumors that Samsung would reduce the glut of in-house software on the Galaxy S6 and include some of Microsoft's apps? They're at least partly true. Both the S6 and S6 edge will ship with a "Microsoft Apps" folder that currently includes OneDrive, OneNote and Skype. There's no hint of Office -- at least not yet -- but you will get 115GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for two years. You certainly won't be hurting for photo backup space, then. It's hard to say if the bundle is the direct result of Microsoft and Samsung calling a truce in their Android royalty dispute. Either way, the move is going to give Microsoft's services a lot more exposure. While they've been available on Android for some time, their absence in phone bundles has typically made it easier to lean on equivalents from the likes of Google and Dropbox.

Don't miss out on all the latest news, photos and liveblogs from MWC 2015. Follow along at our events page.

The last time Samsung put on a show in Barcelona, it came bearing the Galaxy S5 and that love-it-or-hate-it bandage back. Not exactly a high point in the company's design history, you might say. Over the past year, though, the Korean juggernaut has come to the realization that it needs to pare down and push a few more envelopes, a philosophy that begat weird, arguably wonderful experiments like the Note Edge. So, Samsung, it's been a year -- how far have you come?

It's been just a couple of weeks since Samsung acquired mobile payments company LoopPay, but it's ready to announce the payment service based on LoopPay's tech: Samsung Pay. The service works with NFC (like Apply Pay and Google Wallet) and a new(ish) tech called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST). It's the latter of the two options that has people excited, so let's take a minute to explain what exactly it is.

The original Gear VR headset actually made a little headway, even getting picked up by Best Buy. Its main barrier to entry, aside from its $199 price point, is limited device compatibility: If you don't have a Galaxy Note 4, you can't use the Gear VR. With Samsung today launching not one, but two flagship smartphones, the number of VR-compatible smartphones from Samsung has just tripled. Presenting the aptly named Gear VR Innovator Edition for Galaxy S6 and S6 edge.

The moment we heard that Samsung was throwing a "Galaxy Unpacked" event at Mobile World Congress, we knew it had to be launching the Galaxy S6. And, according to the many leaks that are already circulating on the internet, we're probably right. Still, it's always worth attending the actual event itself -- Samsung's been known to offer up a surprise or two and besides, the company sometimes puts up quite an entertaining show. So join us, won't you, for our liveblog starting right here at 12:30pm ET.

Samsung's already had its big launch event ruined by those pesky leakers and now, even its official partners are piling on. A Reddit user by the name of iamdenden, apparently a Sprint employee, has posted an image of both the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge standing by side-by-side. The same thread has also revealed Sprint's teaser website where users can pre-register their interest in picking up the latest "Samsung devices," plural. If true, it does appear as if the S6 Edge will have a wrap-around screen on both sides compared to the Note Edge with a shiny metal frame, to boot. At least we've only got a few more days until we know for sure.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) wasn't convinced when Samsung explained that its smart TVs aren't actually eavesdropping on people. In fact, the privacy group has just asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the South Korean company has really been recording people's living room convos. If you recall, Samsung stirred up controversy earlier this month due to the phrasing of its privacy policy, which stated that "some voice commands may be transmitted (along with information about your device, including device identifiers) to a third-party service that converts speech to text or to the extent necessary to provide the Voice Recognition features to you." The outcry that ensued forced Samsung to clarify that its smart TVs can only hear what you say if you push a designated button.

It's no longer hard to get a hefty 128GB of storage in asmartphone, but that doesn't mean you'll enjoy it. What's the point of all that extra space if your phone chugs handling huge games and 4K videos? Samsung has clearly anticipated this problem, though -- it just outed the first 128GB flash memory chip based on the speedy Universal Flash Storage standard. The part uses tricks like command queuing and a serial interface to give you the kind of breakneck performance you'd expect from a solid-state drive in a PC, not a device that fits in your pocket. It's about 2.7 times faster at random data reads than the flash you see in many high-end phones, while its sequential speeds are "up to SSD levels." And that's while using 50 percent less power -- you won't have to take a hit to battery life.

HTC isn't the only mobile company having trouble keeping its 2015 flagship phone under wraps. XDA-Developers forum member reefur has posted photos of what's believed to be a prototype Samsung Galaxy S6 for AT&T. The tipster was understandably worried about giving it a spin, but he notes that this handset is "pretty slim" and more upscale than Galaxy S phones of the past. In addition to the expected metal frame, Samsung's usual plastic backing has been replaced with glass à la the iPhone 4 and Nexus 4 -- don't drop this, folks. There also doesn't appear to be either a removable battery or a microSD card slot, which is bound to disappoint some fans if this is what shows up at Samsung's March 1st event. %Gallery-slideshow268689%

Update: We've added a side-by-side comparison with the Galaxy S6 Edge to the gallery as well.

Remember Android for Work, Google's big effort to make your smartphone safe for business? It's finally ready for prime time. The officially launched initiative lets you keep work-related accounts and app info separate from personal affairs while maintaining security -- you don't have to worry that higher-ups will peek at (or worse, delete) your vacation photos. You'll only get full flexibility if you're using Android 5.0 Lollipop, which lets you create work profiles, but an app will grant you access to corporate-approved tools if you're running Android 4.0 or later.

Oculus VR has a challenge for aspiring game and app developers: Create something new and exciting for the Gear VR Innovator Edition, Samsung's Oculus-powered headset, and get a shot at a cash prize from a $1 million pool. The Oculus Mobile VR Jam 2015 kicks off on April 13 and ends on May 11, with sign-ups open now at ChallengePost. The Jam -- and the cash -- is split between two tracks, "Games" and "Apps or Experiences," with Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in each segment. The top Platinum Game gets $200,000, while the Platinum App or Experience snags $100,000. There are multiple winners for each of the remaining ranks, and prizes bottom out at $10,000 for each Bronze victor.

Despite attempts to curb patent trolls, at least some of them are getting lucky -- and this week, one got very lucky. A Texas court has ordered Apple to pay a whopping $532.9 million to Smartflash, a holding company which sued over claims that iTunes (specifically its copy protection, payment systems and storage) violates its patents. The Cupertino crew allegedly abused the inventions on purpose, in part because one of its execs was briefed on them over a decade ago.

Samsung and HTC's new smartphones may command the bulk of the attention at this year's Mobile World Congress but the show isn't just about new handsets. Samsung and Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom will use the show to demonstrate a new mobile data system that'll reach of speeds up to 7.5Gbps. Although the official 5G standard isn't yet defined, the pair are trying to elbow in on the act by calling the process "5G." Unfortunately, while that level of speed is thrilling, the technology behind it does come with a few "uhm," "ah," and "but" noises attached.

Unless you've opted for a pocket-busting phone, you can probably still see the utility of having a tablet to handle books, movies or even a bit of on-the-go productivity. There are plenty of options for different budgets, and we've lined up our top picks to help you find your next. Dell's sharp new Venue 8 7000 nails the visuals with its high-res OLED screen and RealSense 3D camera, while the obvious choice for powerful, portable computing is still Microsoft's Surface Pro 3. Apple retains a top spot in the tablet world with its slim and speedy iPad Air 2 (we're still championing the last-gen iPad mini 2 over its higher-priced successor). Gamers have an option too, with NVIDIA's powerful Shield Android tablet. You can check out the full rundown in our complete buyer's guide, but if you just want to quickly flip through some of the best tablets on the market, head to the gallery below.%Gallery-slideshow268270%

Samsung wants to ensure it's as integral to the electric car world as it is to the mobile arena. The Korean electronics giant is acquiring Magna International's battery pack arm, Magna Steyr, which will fit nicely inside of Samsung SDI, its component division. SDI has already scored a major deal with BMW providing batteries for its new i3 electric car and i8 hybrid, and it will make up eight percent of Tesla's battery supply this year (it's also in talks to build even more). Having more battery smarts, naturally, should make Samsung a stronger competitor to Panasonic, which is Tesla's biggest suppler, as well as its partner for the massive "Gigafactory" battery plant. You might also remember Magna as one of the companies Apple reportedly talked to for its rumored electric car project.

Now we know there's some metal in there, but Samsung's recent video teaser didn't really give us a clear look at its new Galaxy phone. Fortunately, T-Mobile's got you covered, even if it's not quite the whole deal. While promoting a sign-up page for interested parties, the carrier also threw in the above image to whet appetites. So now we're confused: another teaser video suggested a more typically screened device without the curved display of the Galaxy Edge, but maybe Samsung's got two S6 devices. Or maybe it'll only have the one curved side, unlike early reports. Who knows? (Aside from the Samsung execs and, most likely, T-Mobile CEO John Legere.) We've reached peak teaser levels now, so barring an incidental complete leak, you'll have to wait seven more days for all the answers, curved edges and all.

Samsung's teasers for the Galaxy S6 (or whatever it might be named) are getting decidedly less cryptic. The company's latest hype video for the new smartphone promises that "borders will disappear" and "metals will flow" -- if there was any doubt that the next Galaxy is ditching the S5's utilitarian plastic design, it's gone. There are further hints of a curved (and reflection-free) display, too. There's a good chance that the phone won't quite live up to this teaser's breathless prose, but one thing's increasingly certain: Samsung doesn't want its upcoming flagship device to suffer the ignominious fate of its predecessor.

In today's Daily Roundup, you'll find out about the top 10 wearables you can buy right now, get the scoop on a video game for the socially anxious and read about one of the most influential samples in music. Find out about all this and more, just past the break.

Curved or straight? Samsung's Galaxy S6 or whatever-its-called could be both, as the latest teaser shows a straight edged phone, when another from last week flaunted some curves. It boasted about the model being "crafted from the beautiful things I see around me," possibly a reference to the use of metal in the body rather than plastic. Who knows? It's smartphone PR after all, not Chekhov. Curved or straight, we expect that it'll be Exynos-powered, nearly bloatware-free and possibly packing a smaller battery. We'll find out next week at Mobile World Conference 2015, so try not to lose any sleep.

Samsung's got strong LTE (and LTE-A, and... whatever's next) bones and now it's looking to shift the commercial tech into the emergency services. Public safety announcements has been a project of the 3GPP for a while. What's that, you say? It's a ragtag gang of superheroes telecoms groups and organizations that hammers out the crucially important (but typically very dry) standards and technical specifications -- these have formed the basis for the likes of 3G and LTE in the past. Samsung's public safety LTE (PS-LTE) is apparently geared for first responders and use during "emergency situations". Importantly the option of a new kind of public safety announcement network will take the drag off existing networks, as well as offer the data heft of LTE network, hopefully ensuring communication remains possible in even the most dire situations.

Samsung is moving into mobile payments in a big way by acquiring LoopPay, a company that lets you pay for things with your phone similar to Apple Pay. LoopPay's technology (which, notably, isn't based on NFC like Google Wallet and Apple's option) mimics swiping a traditional credit card when you hold one of its smartphones cases up to a card reader. That gives it the advantage of working in 90 percent of existing payment terminals (or so the company says). We heard back in December that Samsung was eager to license LoopPay's technology, but now it looks like the two companies are jumping straight into marriage. But really, it's no wonder Samsung is eager to catch up with a wireless payment option of its own after Apple Pay's strong launch last fall. Heck, even the the U.S. government wants in on Apple Pay.